No: 162, 8 June 2018, Press Release Regarding The Statement Made By The Chancellor Of Austria Mr. Kurz At The Press Conference Held This Morning

Republic Of Turkey Ministry Of Foreign Affairs 08.06.2018

We regret the statement made by the Chancellor of Austria Mr. Sebastian
Kurz, at the press conference held together with Vice Chancellor, Federal
Minister of Interior, and the Federal Minister for the EU which coordinates
Office of Religious Affairs, which announced that our religious officials
who are sent by our country to serve under the Turkish Islamic Union in
Austria (ATIB) will not be granted residence permits and that seven
mosques, including one that belongs to the Turkish community, will be
closed. The closure of seven mosques and deporting of religious officials
due to trivial excuses is a consequence of the Islamophobic, racist and
discriminatory populist wave in Austria.

We condemn that Austrian politicians, Chancellor Kurz in particular, are
trying to take political advantage of these alarming developments, instead
of fighting Islamophobia, xenophobia and the rise of the extremist right.

The ideological attitude of the Austrian government is incompatible with
universal legal principles, integration policies, minority rights and the
ethics of peaceful coexistence. Normalization of Islamophobia and racism in
this manner must absolutely be rejected.

On the other hand, embracing of such a discriminatory and populist approach
under the direction of politicians devoid of experience and common sense is
an alarming development that heralds a negative trend concerning the rise
of Islamophobia and racism in Europe.

It is also unfortunate for the EU that an Austria that possesses such a
mindset will assume the Presidency of the Council of the EU. This decision
is in contradiction with the efforts, in particular by the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs of Turkey and Austria, to normalize the relations between
our countries. It will also undoubtedly not contribute to the integration
efforts of the Turkish community in Austria.